Russia's Hermitage Museum denounces blasphemy investigation

December 10, 2012|Reuters

* British brothers' show under fire from conservatives

* Jailed Pussy Riot members faced similar allegations

By Alexei Anishchuk

MOSCOW, Dec 10 (Reuters) - The head of Russia's renownedHermitage Museum accused Russian authorities on Monday offostering "mob rule" in taking up complaints by Russian OrthodoxChristians over a British exhibit they said injured religiousfeelings.

The row coincides with a surge in religious, nationalistsentiment in Russia, with President Vladimir Putin moving closerto the Orthodox Church to consolidate his support after facingthe biggest protests since he rose to power nearly 13 years ago.

The display, entitled "The End of Fun" and launched in theSt Petersburg museum in October, includes figurines draped withNazi insignia and a crucified Ronald McDonald, the mascot of theMcDonald's fast-food restaurant chain.

It has drawn over 100 complaints and state prosecutors arechecking whether it violates a law against incitement to hatred,under which two members of the Pussy Riot punk protest bandopposed to President Vladimir Putin were jailed.

"This (investigation) is an attempt to dictate conditions tous by mob rule and we should not allow this," said MikhailPiotrovsky, the director of Hermitage, one of the world's oldestand biggest museums.

Prosecutors acted after receiving complaints from visitorswho said the exhibition by British artists Jake and DinosChapman offended the feelings of Russian Orthodox Christians.

"You can't force a celebrated actor to cancel his show justbecause someone would come and make a noise ... about someone'sfeelings," Piotrovsky told Reuters on the sidelines of aconference in Moscow. "Art has its own language, one needs tounderstand it. If you don't get it, just step aside."

The Hermitage Museum is housed in buildings including theWinter Palace, a former residence of the Russian emperors, andis now owned by the state.

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The Hermitage website describes the centrepiece of theChapman brothers' display as a "three-dimensional collageconsisting of miniature plastic figures ... arranged in such away that it resembles a (Nazi) swastika from above".

"In the display cases, a single landscape of hell unfolds inwhich the figures ceaselessly kill one another with diabolicalcruelty ... By placing cruelty in seal museum display cases ordioramas, the artists strive to cure society of that cruelty."

The museum's website said the exhibit belonged to a"Disasters of War" genre and that it was not suitable forviewing by anyone younger than 18.

Traditional religious conservatism has revived markedly inpublic since Pussy Riot members burst into a Russian Orthodoxcathedral in Moscow in February and, dressed in short dressesand colourful ski masks, performed a protest song againstPutin's close ties with the church.

The two-year prison sentences handed down to two members ofthe all-women collective were criticised in the West, but theprotest outraged many Russian Orthodox Christians and stirred adebate over the state of society in Russia.

Since the Pussy Riot trial this summer, Russian lawmakersallied to Putin have called for the introduction of jailsentences for people found guilty of offending religiousfeelings.

Critics say the law would blur the line between the stateand the church. They regard the move as part of what they see asa clampdown on dissent and civil liberties since Putin began anew six-year term in May. He denies launching a crackdown.

Among other prominent instances of conservative Russianstrying to protect their beliefs in court, American pop singerMadonna was sued by a group of Russians for spreading gay"propaganda" when she gave a concert in St Petersburg in August.The case was eventually thrown out.

The launch of patrols in Moscow by cossacks has also beenwidely interpreted as a result of Putin's calls for patriotismand his promotion of Russian traditions.